Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Masonic Society Dinner in Albuquerque, NM

Saturday was a fantastic evening in Albuquerque, NM, as W:.B:. Ken Davis is New Mexico's Masonic Society 2nd Circle Chairman (He is a Past Master of Lodge Vitruvian No. 767 in Indianapolis, and now transplanted to NM). Ken arranged the first dinner meeting of the New Mexico 2nd Circle last Saturday evening.

We had about 32 brethren, non-Masons and ladies come out for the evening, including New Mexico Grand Master R:.W:. Gary M. Deck. We received wonderful support, especially from members of Albuquerque Lodge No. 60 and Sandia Mountain Lodge No. 72. I was honored to speak to this gathering (dinner at the Chama River Brewing Company was fantastic, BTW), and engage in the 7 traditional toasts. My deepest gratitude goes to Ken Davis and his wife Betty for their hard work setting up the evening.

W:.B:. Adam Hathaway and me.

This is exactly what the 2nd Circle groups were envisioned as - good food, a little education, with a lot of fun and new friendships. The 2nd Circles are the local component of the Masonic Society. When you join TMS, you are automatically a part of the 2nd Circle in your state, province or region. The goal is for these groups to meet occasionally, get to know each other, share ideas, and expand the Society among the Masonic community. We'd like 2nd Circles to man tables at Grand Lodge sessions and other state or regional meetings. They can arrange local symposia, as was done in May in London with authors Bob Cooper and Michael Baigent. We have no intention of trying to replace research lodges or other Masonic clubs or organizations—it is our aim to be their supportive partners and take part in local events. And The Journal of the Masonic Society is always receptive to papers and articles from brethren in research lodges and groups. It is unfortunately the nature of these groups for a brother to read a paper at a lunchtime meeting, and for it to never be seen again. The Journal gives brethren the opportunity to share their hard work with a wider audience (we currently have members in 16 countries).

Thanks especially to W:.B:. Adam Hathaway for the gift, and to Brother Jay Williams for the beautiful sand painting and book. And I want to especially express my appreciation to Grand Master Deck and his officers for their warm hospitality and the wonderful gift of honorary membership in the Grand Lodge of New Mexico. It was truly a fantastic weekend.

1 comment:

I had to smile to myself just now as I ran across this post. The New Mexico Second Circle wasn't recognized by the Grand Lodge until the following March, when MW Brother Gary was the outgoing GM. And that recognition was tightly contested, though granted in the end.

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Freemasonry is...

Freemasonry is the world's largest, oldest and best-known gentleman's fraternity. It is based on the medieval stonemason guilds who built the great castles and cathedrals of Europe. Modern Freemasons use the tools, traditions and terminology of those stonemasons as allegories for building temples in the hearts of men. It's said that we are a secret society. We do indeed have secrets—secrets that each individual man has to discover for and about himself. At its core, Freemasonry is simply an attempt to make the world a better place, one man at a time. For that man, it can become as simple or as complicated as he himself desires. It's not for everybody. Maybe it's for you.

"Brother Chris Hodapp's [blog]...is thought provoking and is often the first place on the web where new ideas and matters of interest are posted."

He spent twenty three years in advertising as a commercial filmmaker for Dean Crow Productions, shooting and editing close to 1,000 commercials, music videos and feature films. He has written scripts for corporate and non-profit clients, and his voice has appeared in many television and radio commercials.

Chris has attended Indiana University, the University of Southern California, Los Angeles Valley College, California State University at Northridge, and Indiana/Purdue University at Indianapolis.

As a Freemason, he is a Past Master of Broad Ripple Lodge #643 and of Lodge Vitruvian #767, Free & Accepted Masons of the State of Indiana. He is an honorary member of Vincennes Lodge No. 1, Plymouth-Kilwinning Lodge #149, Ancient Landmarks Lodge #319, Garfield Lodge #569, and Logan Lodge #575 in Indiana, African Lodge #459, Prince Hall Affiliation, in Boston, Massachusetts, and the Grand Lodge of New Mexico AF&AM.

He was the editor and a contributor to "Laudable Pursuit: A 21st Century Response to Dwight Smith"by the Knights of the North, a Masonic leadership think-tank. He has written for Indianapolis Monthly, Masonic Magazine, Templar History, the Scottish Rite Journal, the Knight Templar Magazine, the Indiana Freemason , the Phylaxis, and many other publications.

He has appeared on the History Channel, Discovery, National Geographic, and the American Heroes Channel. Hodapp and Von Kannon also developed episode outlines for the History Channel program, Brad Meltzer's Decoded in 2010, and Chris contributed material on conspiracies and secret societies for TruTV.

His most recent book, "Deciphering the Lost Symbol," was published in 2009.

He and Alice live in Indianapolis with their very French poodle, Wiley.

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